Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2020
Updated on June 18, 2025.
Based on the US Census Vintage data estimates, in 2020, the Population for North Carolina was 10.45M. Among all North Carolina counties, Wake County had the highest population (1.13M), followed by Mecklenburg County (1.12M), and Guilford County (538.76K).
The chart below shows the top 10 counties, and the table below shows the ranking of all North Carolina counties.
You can see similar ranking information for related topics, and for other states. You can also see the ranking of all counties in the United States.
Related Topics: North Carolina Census Vintage Data Topic List.
Data Source: US Census Bureau (Vintage), 2020 Census.
See this for other years:
Ranking of North Carolina Counties By Population in 2020
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| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake County | 1130694 |
| 2 | Mecklenburg County | 1116263 |
| 3 | Guilford County | 538761 |
| 4 | Forsyth County | 382634 |
| 5 | Cumberland County | 337195 |
| 6 | Durham County | 322505 |
| 7 | Buncombe County | 269704 |
| 8 | Union County | 239688 |
| 9 | Gaston County | 228625 |
| 10 | Cabarrus County | 227235 |
| 11 | New Hanover County | 226442 |
| 12 | Johnston County | 217426 |
| 13 | Onslow County | 205111 |
| 14 | Iredell County | 187696 |
| 15 | Pitt County | 173643 |
| 16 | Alamance County | 171620 |
| 17 | Davidson County | 169050 |
| 18 | Catawba County | 160889 |
| 19 | Rowan County | 146909 |
| 20 | Randolph County | 144407 |
| 21 | Orange County | 143732 |
| 22 | Brunswick County | 138167 |
| 23 | Harnett County | 133716 |
| 24 | Wayne County | 117772 |
| 25 | Henderson County | 116571 |
| 26 | Robeson County | 115967 |
| 27 | Craven County | 101505 |
| 28 | Moore County | 100293 |
| 29 | Cleveland County | 99945 |
| 30 | Nash County | 95159 |
| 31 | Rockingham County | 91214 |
| 32 | Burke County | 87248 |
| 33 | Lincoln County | 87169 |
| 34 | Caldwell County | 80584 |
| 35 | Wilson County | 79301 |
| 36 | Chatham County | 76662 |
| 37 | Surry County | 71371 |
| 38 | Franklin County | 69028 |
| 39 | Carteret County | 67695 |
| 40 | Wilkes County | 65872 |
| 41 | Rutherford County | 64357 |
| 42 | Lee County | 63402 |
| 43 | Stanly County | 62679 |
| 44 | Haywood County | 62218 |
| 45 | Pender County | 60625 |
| 46 | Granville County | 60151 |
| 47 | Sampson County | 59070 |
| 48 | Lenoir County | 55058 |
| 49 | Watauga County | 54470 |
| 50 | Hoke County | 52249 |
| 51 | Columbus County | 50475 |
| 52 | Edgecombe County | 48780 |
| 53 | Duplin County | 48668 |
| 54 | Halifax County | 48416 |
| 55 | Beaufort County | 44690 |
| 56 | Stokes County | 44579 |
| 57 | McDowell County | 44554 |
| 58 | Davie County | 42894 |
| 59 | Richmond County | 42725 |
| 60 | Vance County | 42559 |
| 61 | Jackson County | 42146 |
| 62 | Pasquotank County | 40270 |
| 63 | Person County | 39187 |
| 64 | Yadkin County | 37253 |
| 65 | Macon County | 37095 |
| 66 | Dare County | 37038 |
| 67 | Alexander County | 36410 |
| 68 | Scotland County | 33420 |
| 69 | Transylvania County | 33258 |
| 70 | Bladen County | 29630 |
| 71 | Cherokee County | 28864 |
| 72 | Currituck County | 28404 |
| 73 | Ashe County | 26590 |
| 74 | Montgomery County | 25720 |
| 75 | Caswell County | 22473 |
| 76 | Anson County | 22034 |
| 77 | Martin County | 21959 |
| 78 | Hertford County | 21787 |
| 79 | Madison County | 21295 |
| 80 | Greene County | 20438 |
| 81 | Polk County | 19380 |
| 82 | Warren County | 18601 |
| 83 | Yancey County | 18496 |
| 84 | Avery County | 17815 |
| 85 | Bertie County | 17717 |
| 86 | Northampton County | 17439 |
| 87 | Mitchell County | 14898 |
| 88 | Swain County | 14103 |
| 89 | Chowan County | 13707 |
| 90 | Perquimans County | 13022 |
| 91 | Pamlico County | 12312 |
| 92 | Clay County | 11145 |
| 93 | Washington County | 10981 |
| 94 | Alleghany County | 10889 |
| 95 | Gates County | 10450 |
| 96 | Camden County | 10407 |
| 97 | Jones County | 9145 |
| 98 | Graham County | 8039 |
| 99 | Hyde County | 4514 |
| 100 | Tyrrell County | 3234 |